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100 Days of Happiness Challenge

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In 2013, Dmitry Golubnichy started a personal challenge called the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge. To increase chances that he will actually finish this personal challenge, he made posts public over the social network with #100happydays hashtag. It soon became a Twitter trend that went viral. It requires a person to find one thing each day that makes them happy, for 100 days straight, and to post a picture of the same on their social media. He even created a website for the same (http://100happydays.com).

At the moment, the challenge has been taken by more than 8 000 000 people from 160 countries and territories around the world, and he has quit his job to inspire more people to choose happier living.

He has also given a Ted Talk for the same! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4UtPDaR3cA)

The website claims the following benefits of the challenge:

– Start noticing what makes you happy every day;

– Be in a better mood every day;

– Start receiving more compliments from other people;

– Realize how lucky you are to have the life you have;

– Become more optimistic;

– Fall in love during the challenge.

However, there has been some strong criticism of the movement as well. Major ones include:

  1. Being too materialistic in the process, since a picture would mostly require something tangible
  2. Boring friends on social media
  3. Forcing happiness since it is impossible to be happy for 100 days straight
  4. Feeling a constant pressure and actually feeling ‘unhappy’ if they forgot to post for one day and broke the streak
  5. Making the exercise public, couldn’t let them share the personal, happy moments

It is essential to learn where the challenge emerged from, why was it public and why it helped Dmitry. It is advisable to rather just pick what one likes from the challenge, maybe mold it to one’s convenience as long as the essence of it remains unchanged, which is finding something to be grateful for on your not-so-good days.

 

 Feature Image Credits: Unsplash

 Khyati Sanger
[email protected]

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Exams

All Nighters: Not Always the Best Option

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All-nighters are the quintessential package under the exam season fuss, but are it good for your health? We unravel this mystery.

All-nighters are something which has been an integral part of each and every college student’s life. The night revolving around cozy blankets or sturdy chairs and rounds of coffee to keep you alive, all in the shivers of the exam. All-nighters are usually something which students pull off before an exam, usually as a result of a vast syllabus which is to be covered. However, research shows that pulling an all-nighter before an exam, may not be the best option.

Pulling an all-nighter has a serious effect on your health. Past studies have shown that all-nighters affect the cognitive abilities majorly. It can cause distortion to your memory. And majorly impair the concentration and problem-solving abilities.  Besides, once the effect of the caffeine wears off, it leaves one very weary. Writing a three-hour examination requires the brain and the body to be susceptible to the pressure. Majority of those who tend to study all night have a probability of scoring lesser GPAs in comparison to their peers. So staying up all night may simply not be the best option!

Recent studies from a Swedish based research term also suggests that even one night of missed ‘snoozing’ or sleep may have a long-lasting effect on your genes. The study was reported back in 2015 by the group. It targeted studying the ‘clock’ genes, an integral part of the circadian rhythm which is found throughout the body. They act like tiny clocks which control and coordinate the internal body clock, in the muscle and adipose tissues. Every cell in your body contains its own circadian clock, and your hypothalamus acts as a master clock that keeps them all running in sync. When you stay up all day and all night, though, your signaling gets completely out of whack . That throws your cells’ circadian clocks out of sync, thereby making you feel a vague sense of nausea, fatigue, lassitude, sleepiness. The study suggests that a missed night of sleep is enough to throw our metabolism in a loop, risking us to prone obesity and diabetes.

Heena Garg, a second-year Literature student of Maitreyi College feels, “all-nighters leave you exhausted very often. But it is the exam blues which keep you awake, unable to sleep. You’re always wondering how much more of the syllabus is left to be covered, as there is just so much of it!”

Many experts also state that all-nighters affect the brain’s efficiency, which keeps reducing, each hour we deprive our body of sleep. One of the biggest tolls an all-nighter has is on our working memory. When we cram, our brain uses only short-term memory. To retain that information for a lengthier tie, we need to utilize our long-term memory. It is as simple as it is ‘information that comes in quick leaves just as quickly’. A heavy dosage of information in a short amount of time doesn’t allow the information to assimilate. Sleeping helps in the assimilation and memory consolidation. Our capacity to learn and memorize anything is the most effective in the morning time. This is when the peak cognitive efficiency is present. As you stay awake for longer hours, the brain’s efficiency reduces. The brain uses molecules called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which help it in burning fuels. The linger one stays awake, the more ATP is used; hence there is less to help metabolize energy.

Nikki Chaudhary, a second-year Literature student of Maitreyi College says, “Working or studying all night is something which is seen as quite an adventure to most of the young adults these days. Coffee and books go hand in hand for such individuals, who are unaware of the health deteriorating repercussions of this habit causing an imbalance in their routine cycle.”

The long-term dangers of all-nighters include the reduced learning and cognitive ability and increased likelihood of developing anxiety disorders. Other hazards include weight gain, an increased risk of diabetes, and potential brain damage. Despite the hazards attached to it, all-nighters became a choice which many time-crunched people make!

Hersh Dhillon, a second-year Computer Science student at IIT Ropar comments “I mainly pull all-nighters in or around exam time and sometimes on Fridays. Well, in retrospect I feel the exams in which I slept for a decent 5 hours are the ones I scored more at. Quite possibly because the exams I stayed up all night for were tougher. But yeah, this could well be a reason”

According to caffeineinformer.com, “Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance on the planet.” Almost 80% of the world uses caffeine. While being metabolized by the body caffeine has several well-documented positive effects on the body and its processes. Caffeine ensures alertness or wakefulness. This is achieved by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine signals the brain that it’s time for the body to slow down and sleep.

In order to ensure they are well awake, students are prone to abuse energy drinks, or at least regularly consume them, thereby affecting the sleep quality. Caffeine intake should be moderate and works best after a regular sleep routine. Drinks like coffee and energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, Tzinga etc. may provide instant energy, but have deteriorating effects in the long run. Prolonged or improper use of these energy drinks may lead to headaches, palpitations, dizziness, gastrointestinal upset etc. A continuous streak of staying awake can lead to strokes or even loss of short-term memory.

Make a study schedule on what all you will cover before the exam day. It is always good to keep a mental note of it as well! Second, invest in short naps. If you plan to stay awake for really late, take a nap for at least 30 minutes so as to freshen up and then you can cover up what is left. In this manner, your brain can relax and assimilate the knowledge you just went through and you are ready for learning whatever is left to, without forgetting the previous one. When you sleep, the hippocampus replays what you’ve learned while you were awake.Dr. Charles Czeisler, chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation and chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital says, “No sleep, no long-term memory of those lessons.” Invest in eating dry fruits and baked snacks or roasted chana to keep the iron levels up and you energized throughout.

Hence, ensure you sleep nicely in between the exam season and have brain rich foods to ensure you pass with flying colours.

 For more information check out the link to this Youtube Video by Claudia Aguirre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqONk48l5vY

 

Feature Image credits: Medium

 Avnika Chhikara
[email protected]

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Exams

A letter to the Delhi Winters

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The winters are a terrible time when the exam clashes and you’re forced out of your comfortable blankets and cozy houses. Let us pray this winter won’t be so brutal to us whilst we study for our exams!

Dear Winters,

I can notice you’ve made your mind to enter the ‘Dilwaalo ki Dilli’ with grandeur. Sending gushes of chilly winds in the mornings and late nights, your arrival has made the winter equipment come back to life. In hurdles, the sweaters and blankets keep coming out in piles. Grandmother calls to ask whether we require goond and gaajarpak to ensure we stay alive. Mother ushers the help as they labour out laddoos, while all we are instructed to do is sit and study.

Your presence is felt on my study table. The wooden desk turning utterly cold. I eerily try to succumb to it, but no matter how many years of this practice we’ve had, the chills still get the worst of me! Thank you, to you, I’ll gain extra pounds while devouring the most wholesome meals of the year, being excused by everyone for the beastly appetite. I pray to you for not tempting me into divine slumbers, as I need every possible hour of the day to skim the books, the elixir of knowledge. Let me be wide awake before the examination day, let the teeth clutter and clatter but leave the mind functioning enough.

As I’d go to the examination center, I pray there isn’t much fog, even though an alternative wish is to disappear in the mist, than to face the fate of the papers. Let the woolen gloves on my hand leave me smitten like a kitten, I wish to not have frost bit hands as I have three hours ahead of me to faff. May you, in a decent attempt, try to be as pleasant as ever, on the days I step out of the house, with scarves and beret caps, to endure to the tale of losing an entire semester for nothing, but fun! May you please, please not try to slip from the crooks and crannies; my college has a lot of broken, un-shut windows. May you try your best possible, to not give any season blues. It is a musical choir of sneezing and coughs for a hundred and eighty minutes full. May you bring a percussion along, to distract the noise of the sharp clanking of the heeled foot apparel, with which the supervisor walks in pendulum motions here and there until she stops to read the answer script and wonder and wonder what’s there.

I’ve seen an idol of you, hung near the tea stall. There are days, when the chaiwaala bhaiya may call upon you, summon you, try all sorts of possible necromancy to lure you, but don’t get too tempted. There is a humanly limit to us glugging down hot ginger teas. You become the season ambassador for “hello friends’ chai peelo”, and as wonderful those few minutes are, we need to face the reality of the exams. Let us fight through your turbulent chills, as we have promised ourselves lots of leisure. Once you come, I wish you can go as soon as possible, but you don’t listen to me anymore. As I bid adieu to the gone summers, I reminisce the beautiful days. Winter is coming, winter is coming, and we need to face the harsh fate of it anyways.  I hope you will have a short visit, that is what you always promise, but you present to us pleasant sunshine and wide gardens to picnic on, so we present some affection from our side as well. It is hard to track your location as your address keeps changing. Now that you’ve come to Asia-Pacific, stay put!

Yours truly,

A DU student

 

Feature Image credits: Sky Met Weather

Avnika Chhikara
[email protected]

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Exams

How to Study Smart

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Utilize the preparatory time before exams by being efficient and saving up on the time and anxiety.

As the exam clock approaches, the perpetual fear of completing the syllabus remains on the forefront of our brains. We give you some of the tips on how to be efficient during the exam season. Here is a guide to smart studying:

  • Find your go-to method

Find a method of studying which really makes an impact on you. Remember, not everyone has the same study routine. Things strike everyone in a different manner. Some of us may prefer textual reading; others may prefer learning a concept by graphics or simplified layman terms. At the end of the day, understanding and assimilating the information is important. So, find out what type of studying method suits you the best and work towards it.

  • Finding out the utility hours

Of course, for every one of us, there is a specific time of the day when we are the most efficient. Some of us may be nocturnal owls of the night, while others may be early birds. Find out the time of the day wherein your concentration power is at its maximum and use it to your advantage.

  • Invest in making good notes

Of course, note making is something you should put a firm hand on while studying for your exams. Your notes shouldn’t be bulky, that reading them won’t reap any desired rewards. Make use of small sentences, pointers or even keywords. Notes should always contain trivial and compressed information. For bulky matters, you always have your reading to gauge eyes at.

  • Make use of tables, flowcharts for understanding concepts

Making flowcharts or simple diagrams may make understanding a concept of a point easier, than reading or writing it out in a sentence. The human brain responds better to graphical information. Focusing on one particular mental image or experience can create a model one can refer to when trying to understand later on.

  • Use different colours for highlighting different things

Don’t waste a lot of your time and energy thinking about colour combinations, but a simple use of highlighters or a coloured pen, to mark out important things in your notes or texts makes it easier for revision. You know which part requires a lot of attention when skimming the night before your exams.

  • Multi-tasking is a sin

Let’s leave the task of multi-tasking to robots for now. If you have planned to study, shut your mobile phones and other gizmos, which might prove to be a distraction. Remember, smart study requires your concentration to be maximum. Hence, refrain from the urge of using phones while studying.

  • Write your notes via hand

While saving notes on your laptops may prove to be convenient, but written notes are always a big help. In this manner, you go through the matter at least twice, when writing it up for the first time. It lets you analyze which part is more important and which can be skipped, thereby increasing your tendency to process and reframe the information.

  • Do not skim through everything

Having a lot of notes is always helpful, but when you have plenty of them, you tend to skim through all of them. Remember, every person’s understanding of a topic is subjective. Reading from multiple sources will leave you more confused than sorted. So stick to keynotes which have all the required information and reliability.

  • Prepare a schedule for each day

Instead of just spending the entire day focusing on one subject, tackle at least two or three subjects. It gets you rid of the monotonous reading and also increases your efficiency.

  • Take frequent breaks and a good diet

Ariga & Lleras, 2011in their study mentioned that taking regular study breaks enhances overall productivity and improves focus. Take a 5-10 minute break every 40-50 minutes of studying. It can involve walking around your room or listening to songs or just deep breathing. Studying for long hours on a stretch isn’t ideal.

Keep yourself hydrated during exams and understand the body’s requirements. Try to eat as healthy as possible, have a lot of nuts and brain foods, to nourish it. Since your caffeine consumption increases a lot during exam, ensure you have sufficient water to not cause dehydration.

  • Have a good night’s sleep

Lastly, have at least a six-hour sleep each night. Pulling all-nighters is not a healthy option. Sleep experts state that learning or practicing difficult material before sleep makes it easier to recall it the next day. So arrange your schedule in such a way that you study the hardest topic before you sleep.

So have good food, good mood and zeal and sail through your exams, following these tips!

 

Feature Image credits: green springs school

Avnika Chhikara
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

A Letter To All Those Who Celebrated Diwali Away From Home

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The festive season can be a daunting time for all those who celebrated it away from home. In this festival of lights, it is important to realise that home is where the heart is, and not within those four walls.

It is that time of the year when every house on the street is adorned with a variety of fairy lights, the smell of newly made sweets wafts through the house, filling all corners and the soul of those it reaches, and everybody dons their best traditional wear. The sky is illuminated with the burst of a thousand crackers. The diyas are lighted one by one with the belief that they will ward off the negativity, and welcome the godly spirits. Diwali is a feeling that is often associated with being home and celebrating it with your loved ones.
For all those who celebrated Diwali away from home this year, I know how it feels. I know that you craved to be back
home, be just as much a part of this festival as much as you’ve been for the past 18 years of your life. You longed to
help your mother with the rangolis, taste the sweets while they were still being made, embellish the house with lights and flowers, and wake up in your own bed that very day. It might have been a daunting task to even get through the day without having any family around. Everything about it, all that you encounter on the street, might just fill you with nostalgia and longing. You might have stayed in your cocoon till the Diwali madness passed and the world returned to its ordinary workings. You might have considered passing your time by resorting to Netflix or other activities that you engage in daily, probably giving you the illusion that that day might just not be any different from any other day in the year. The prospect of staying in was any way gloomier than going out and celebrating like everyone else did in Diwali.

Fun is in company. The new city would probably not carry the same charm, your roommates probably won’t share your blood, and your hostel room might have just seemed too small and suffocating. In other words, it just wouldn’t have been home. However, it is important to believe that celebration comes in all shapes and forms and should never be restricted. Just because you’ve known something to exist in a certain way, does not mean that you cease to modify it with time. Your new city pulls you in its embrace; unfamiliarity might seem familiar to you eventually. Your
roommates will always be your family, home away from home. Your hostel room might only serve the purpose of
you sleeping after a long tiresome day, but it will become a place that holds all kinds of bittersweet memories. It will be home, even though it is hard to believe so right now.

Feature Image Credits: Daily Express

Anoushka Singh
[email protected]

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News

Student of Delhi University Hangs Self After Family’s Tussle with boyfriend

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Sister of the said woman found her hanging from a ceiling fan in her residence at New Delhi

 A 21-year-old post-graduate student of Delhi University’s Shyam Lal Anand College, Sunday, committed suicide after her and her boyfriend’s family had a fight.

According to the police, the student’s family was against their daughter’s relationship with the man, who also happens to be their neighbour.

“Last night (Sunday) the families had a fight and the police was informed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad said. “The family was going to lodge a report the next day.”

Prior to the suicide, the girl had received minor injuries. The Medico-Legal case (MLC) substantiates this claim and shows signs of assault.

The specifics of the case are yet to be established, and an investigation is underway.

(The piece will be further updated as investigation unfurls important details and latest information is received)

Feature Image Credits: The Hans India

Maumil Mehraj
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News

Videos of Misconduct in the DUSU Office

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Two videos showing people dancing and playing Ludo, respectively, in the DUSU office have gone viral on social media platforms. Baisoya and ABVP denied knowledge of the incident and of the people in the videos.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has landed in a precarious position another time after Ankiv Baisoya has taken charge of the office as the President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). This time two videos are the cause behind the situation, where one has been doing rounds across social media platforms and the other was originally uploaded to Facebook- on the profile of an individual named ‘ViNii Nam Bardar Abvp’.

As per the videos, the setting has been recognised to be the DUSU Office, presided over by Ankiv Baisoya. The first video shows three men dancing to a song in a regional language in front of the board displaying the DUSU Presidents’ names. The person who shot the video remains unidentified. The second video has people playing the game Ludo in the DUSU Vice-Presidential Office, with conversations amongst the men continuing in Hindi. One person in the video is also shown to tell over a phone conversation to somebody, “Main yahin hoon abhi(I am here only right now)”. Baisoya himself is not present in any of the videos. One of the three men dancing around the Presidential chair has been identified as Vinit Bansal who, according to his profile on Facebook, affiliates himself as a member of the ABVP. The profile also claims him to be a student of BA Programme at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi.

As reported by The Quint, members of the ABVP have stated sternly against the knowledge of any such incident while it was ongoing. DU Beat contacted Ankiv Baisoya who went on record to state the following- “Jo log thee us video mein vo mere jankar nahi hai, nahi vo ABVP se belong karte hai (The people who were present in the video are not known to me, nor do they belong to ABVP). They were present in the office during my absence, and I have told my office staff that these things should not happen, and if someone is forcefully trying to do this then tell me, I will take strict actions against them. I am even planning to file a complaint against these people, who forcefully entered my room when I was not present.” When questioned further about the affiliations of Vinit Bansal with ABVP, Baisoya did not respond.

According to the report published in The Quint, there has been a consensus of disapproval by the student leaders in the university, who are sternly against the lack of appropriate conduct and an insult of the decorum expected in the office of the student leaders. Saimon Farooqui, the National Secretary and Media In-Charge of the majority opposition party- National Students’ Union of India, went on record to state, “Ankiv Baisoya and the ABVP have continuously been mocking the whole DUSU Elections by contesting election by means of fake documents, and then slowing down the investigation process through bigotry. NSUI demands action on these three students and on Ankiv Baisoya as well for letting down the prestige of the office.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Anushree Joshi
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Campus Central

Why You Should Join a Performing Arts Society in a College

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“… And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”John Keating, Dead Poets Society

The basis of art and aesthetics can be routed through human indulgence in social backgrounds. Oscar Wilde’s famous quote is an exploration into the same idea, “Life imitates art, or art imitates life.” It is a matter of perception then, which part of the quote resonates with you. But we can never know for certain, for the perception changes with time. In college, the best platform is given to you, to test the truth in all claims of art – performing or fine. In college, we walk in with interests and desires, and by the end of it all, we feel a surge of joy that derives from our acting in favor of our passions. But everything comes with effort. More often than not, this effort is exhausting, and hence we fail to register its worth. What we don’t realise is that this effort is what makes all the difference. To observe your personal transformations, the best choice you have in college is to participate in a performing arts society.

Western music, Indian classical music, western or classical dance, drama, fashion, choreography, debating and fine arts, a whirlpool of societies are open to students. Emphasis is always laid on having the interest, the skill is developed with time. Many students join societies in colleges that don’t require a lot of their time. It is terribly true that more people join societies that don’t require a lot of effort; because a certificate comes easier that way. We must realise that a society is more than a certificate. It is an experience. For instance, my classmate did not appear for the final round of selection of the drama society in my college because it requires your unwavering attention. She said, “I wish to focus on my course, societies are secondary.” It will not be sensible to refute her argument completely. In its entirety, college becomes more than the course. Your subjects will define you, but your choices and explorations will leave an impression.

Every performing arts society has certain rules and regulations that the members must comply with; and not without reason. Music requires you to avoid certain foods that can harm your vocal chords, and riyaaz (practice). Drama requires as much discipline as it requires dedication. Dance requires constant perseverance, and pains. For this, all these societies require you to practice; and for that, you need to give at least 3-5 hours a day to the art. You will need to sacrifice a lot of “fun” with your classmates and a lot more classes. You might not be allowed to take leaves from the practice sessions, and might even have to stretch your longing for home, because you will have to practice even during holidays.

You will miss out a lot. But you will gain more. Going out to perform in fests and events, spending time with your passions, and with like-minded people, you will learn more than you could ever have hoped for. You will most definitely find yourself in this chaos. And that’s your biggest takeaway from this.

We are always told to follow our dreams. In school, many of us participated in a multitude of activities. But as age becomes a multiple of 10, most of our hobbies become mere words in our CVs. Life is too short to do everything. We need to learn from others too. We need to learn always. That is the purpose of living. But what is living without love? Finding your passion, and then working on it, to perfect it with time and become better every day, that, I bet would be enriching! And it is only true that you don’t have to find time for things you love, they find you. All you have to do is to respect this art, and to learn to find your anchorage in it. Time management is for other tasks, this art requires you.

Some people call dreamers fools. Maybe we are fools because we believe in our dreams; because we know that every dream has a life. What it needs then, is a being, where it can become alive. It needs us.

 

Feature Image Credits: Mahi Panchal for DU Beat.

Kartik Chauhan

[email protected]

 

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DUB Speak

Getting Stage Ready

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The stage is set. You are standing there, adrenalin coursing through you. In a flash of the spotlight you find yourself frozen, and then you bomb!

There is something powerful about the stage. Something that it transfers to you as soon as you are on it, it gives you itself, to your care. And then you become the stage. You are the performance. But this transition comes with great effort. An effort of the internalised self. An effort that means the world of difference in your performance and yet at that moment is everything that you cannot control. You forget that it needs to be schooled, and you become its slave. This tension, this anxiety will mean the end of your dreams, if you do not make the aforementioned effort. It happens to the best of us, and so frequent that we gave it a name – stage fright. As it begins to gnaw at you, there is nothing more than quitting that becomes the simplest and safest option. To get off the stage and run away where no one can reach you! And once you settle with this, you mar all your practice, all your hard work, and all your dreams.

Amitabh Bacchan said this once, “I am very conscious in front of the camera. I still feel nervous when it rolls on the set.” Is it strange then, that we must always feel this nervousness when we have to perform? Some people tend to believe that the true mark of a performer is self-doubt. Underestimating or overestimating your art is variably important. For in these extremes, we must find a balance. The catch here is that this balance comes from within too. So probably, hope and belief would capture this balance. Or something more? Courage, confidence and will must be added to the mix. But all this ideology is tested impatiently by the all powering nature of the stage. When you step on the stage, everything becomes a blank canvas. Your pep-talk is but meaningless mumbling. What do you do then? The answer is simpler than you might think, you just go out there and perform. Try to do your best and live your act. This may sound off, but yes you must do this as a leap of faith. All of us know how faith can work in a dichotomy. But all of us also know that faith and belief are empowering too. It is this power that you must channelise when you are out to perform, because there is always more to a performance than just a prize.

Allow me to share my own experience.

A thousand thoughts go in my mind when I am told, “You are next, please come backstage.” In class 1, I participated in my first Solo Singing Competition in school. As my name was called out, I froze and somehow crawled up the stage. I have crystal-clear memories of what followed that I won the first prize that day. How? Probably because I just lived my performance. I remember it as crisp as if it were yesterday. It has been 12 years. I did not think much about the people sitting there in the hall. Only that my teacher sat with me and told me before I started to sing, “Close your eyes, and relax.”. I still remember her smile when I opened my eyes after 4 minutes of Ae Mere Pyare Vatan. More than the first prize, that smile and my joy at seeing it was my courage for the next performance. But even in my performance last year, I froze just the same and wanted to run away from the hall full of people judging every nuance of my imperfect and badly practised song. I did not win the first prize this time. But I felt very happy when I saw the smile again.

It is said that while performing, we could find someone in the audience. Someone who nods at the right intervals, someone with a smiling face. It does help a lot when you find that person, and unsurprisingly you will always find one person who fits the description.

Recently, at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous, Viren Barman, Mr. India 2016, First runner-up, judging an event said, “It is very important to lose too. I am sitting here after losing countless times. And that is what keeps you going. If you never lose, what is the point? You will never know what it means to win truly.” No game is played to lose, winning is always the incentive. But every loss teaches us more than the victory. What is important is that in victory you keep humble and in your failures, you keep courage and faith. More often than not, the failures will outnumber the victories. But that is how your skill is sharpened. Until you achieve excellence that leaves an impression. And more importantly, an excellence that offers you unadulterated joy.

The stage is never our enemy. Shyness and inhibitions ruin more opportunities than anything else. The best preparedness for the stage is that of the spirit. An unabashed sense of confidence; that inspires you to do your best and considers the competition as a secondary concern. Personality, after all, begins when comparison ends. Staying true to yourself through failures and fighting back harder is the key to achieving success. Getting stage ready is a comprehensive process that continues a lifetime. Through the highs and lows, nothing remains constant. And it is in this erratic behavior that we must need find an equilibrium. Every stage is different, and hence, the lessons differ too. Try to shine your best on a multitude of stages. Try to shine within and without.

 

Feature Image Credits: Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat.

Kartik Chauhan
[email protected]

 

 

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Life at Delhi University

Maitreyi College to Get a New Building Block by Next Semester

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Due to the extreme inconvenience faced by students and teachers alike, the Maitreyi College administration has constructed a four-storied block which will be functional by the end of this semester/ early next semester.

Maitreyi College may have won the “best garden of DU Award,” but the picturesque college has been suffering from an acute shortage of classrooms. There are 17 undergraduate and two postgraduate courses of Arts, Science, and Commerce being taught here. Naturally, this means that the number of students enrolled in the college is high, and the infrastructure isn’t sufficient to accommodate them.

The timetables given to students of Maitreyi College are scattered, owing to the inability of the administration to provide them with a place to study. In some instances, the students have to wait for as many as five hours between two classes. This often leads to a sense of disinterest among students and they end up skipping the last lecture, as opposed to waiting for five hours in the campus.

To add to the problems, the classrooms allotted are different for each subject and after every period the entire roll of students has to shift to another room. In doing this exercise, 15 minutes of study are lost from a one hour lecture, ultimately leading to a loss in the syllabus coverage.

The students are of the opinion that there should be permanent classrooms assigned to all the departments.

The college has bamboo rooms, which are individual rooms built outside the main buildings, and they usually serve as places where the general electives and the tutorials are conducted. But the occupancy of these huts depends on the first-come, first-served basis, which often leads to uncertainty and chaos.
The only department rooms that Maitreyi College has are very few in number, and less than 10×10 feet in area. This space crunch doesn’t allow more than 10 students to be present there at one time without being immensely uncomfortable. “Imagine a class of 46 students having their tutorial in a tiny department room. I am sure none of us would want that,” says Deepika, a student of Maitreyi College.
Besides, it has come to light that the students who take lectures in Hindi lag behind in their syllabus because the frequency of their classes is often compromised to accommodate their English-medium counterparts. This assertion, however, remains largely unverified.
Taking into account this troubling lack of classrooms, the administration started the construction of a new, four-storied block about a year and a half ago. It is built right next to the basketball court and shares proximity with the library block. This new building is expected to function by the end of this semester and should put an end to many, if not all, problems that the college faces. The said building is currently out of bounds for students which leaves little scope for exploring, but judging by the dimensions its capacity looks sufficient.
Other than the new block, the college hostel is also being built in proximity to the campus. It is estimated to be ready in about a year’s time. The administration wasn’t available to comment on the matter, however, the staff seems pleased with the new block of Maitreyi College is expected to put an end to the shortage of rooms developments.

 

Feature Image Credits: Maitreyi College

Maumil Mehraj
[email protected]

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